Bug-A-Boo
by Cyber Rogue
Summary: Marinette finds out what her nickname from Cat Noir really means. The knowledge leaves her horrified while Tikki just thinks her Chosen needs to calm down.


Marinette twisted in her seat, feeling her sore muscles tighten up from sitting for so long in one place. Frowning, she uncrossed her legs and tried to focus on her book while scribbling quick, hurried notes into the open notepad at her side. Her eyes were glued to the interesting, but otherwise long, chapter she was tasked with reading.

Tikki hummed as the kwami flew up beside Marinette, the movement of the tiny creature tickling Marinette's cheek as the air brushed past her. " _Fairies of the Mythical World,_ " Tikki said, cocking her head to gaze at the book in her Chosen's hand. "Sounds interesting."

"It is," Marinette agreed, positioning the book on the desk for her kwami to easily see. "And it is the one project in my school I am actually looking forward to! I just have to write up a creative report on a mythical being of my choosing. Easy!"

Tikki giggled. "Well, being creative has always come naturally to you."

Marinette smiled at her kwami's praise. "It surprises me how many make believe creatures people think exist! I mean, fairies and elves, bogeymen and swamp creatures? The superstitions that some actually believed."

Tikki huffed and folded her tiny arms. "Well, a year ago, you would have thought the same about kwamis and magic."

Marinette stuttered. "W-well, that's different. You're real!"

"I bet your parents would beg to disagree," Tikki commented with a giggle. "After all, my cousin is the Asari fairies." She paused. "You'll find more information on them in page forty-eight of your book."

Marinette let out a startled squeak as she started to frantically flip through her book at the thought of there actually being more mythical creatures, causing Tikki to laugh. "Oh Marinette, I'm joking!"

Marinette ceased her hurried search to stop and stare at her little, floating friend with wide eyes. "So...there are no fairies?"

Tikki hummed. "Can't tell you that! It's a secret."

Marinette rolled her eyes, though her mouth twitched in amusement. "Fine, keep your little secrets." With a huff, she turned to look back at her book once more, fully engrossed in what she was reading. She truly did find the mythical world fascinating, feeling anticipation fill her whenever she read about the beautiful fairies or the mischievous elves. Yet wariness would take the place of her excitement when she read of the ghosts and goblins that snatched children away. The tales of some of these creatures was so delightfully detailed that served to pull her in and fascinate her.

Yes, this would be an easy school project.

Tikki watched her Chosen with a delighted grin. She settled down on the fluffy, comfortable pillow near the window, and the plate of warm cookies. The spot served to place her right beneath the warm sun's rays and in perfect view of watching Marinette read and scribble in some notes. Did she mention that the cookies were also in easy reach?

Speaking of cookies, those delightful treats were looking oddly tantalizing right about now. The light of the sun served to make the melting chocolate chips glisten and ooze while the warm, sugary smell reached Tikki's tiny nose. She was not even aware that she was reaching for the plate of cookies until her small, red hand was just brushing up against the treat.

A startled gasp that grew into a shriek startled Tikki so much that the kwami was sent falling from her perch, the cookies momentarily forgotten. She looked up with wide eyes to see Marinette standing up with her chair pushed back. She was staring at the book with wide eyes, her hands clenching the pages in obvious horror.

"Marinette?" Tikki asked with concern, flying over quickly and wondering what could have possibly distressed the young hero. Was there an akuma? Hawkmoth? A stain on the book? A burnt cookie?

Marinette turned to stare at Tikki, her face slightly red. "Look!" she exclaimed, thrusting the book in Tikki's face. Tikki blinked as she took in the suddenly up close words and images that nearly made her dizzy. She backed up a bit and was able to focus on the old picture in the book. She grimaced as she stared at the hunched over being, its long, clawed hands supporting itself up to walk. Scraggly hair sprung from its head in thin strands that were meant to look oily, along with a thin beard hanging from its chin. Its wide, bulbous eyes stared at Tikki while a malicious grin showed pointy, yellowed teeth that were meant to look worn and stained from use.

Tikki swallowed before looking at Marinette with slight confusion. "Is...is that the fairy you have chosen to do your report on?" Dear God in Heaven, if that was what fairis went for these days, then she would hate to see what imps looked like.

Probably like Plagg.

Marinette blinked. "What? No! This is a bodach!"

Tikki blinked. "A what?"

"A bodach!" Marinette exclaimed. She pulled the book back and described the creature in the pages. "Often described as a trickster or a boogeyman, the bodach is known for kidnapping naughty children through chimneys and stealing them away."

So far, Tikki had yet to see the cause of Marinette's distress.

"This fantastic creature has been misunderstood and goes by many names in different folklore," Marinette continued to read. Here, her eyes flickered over to Tikki. "The most common names are the Bugbear, or," here, she took in a shaky breath, "Bug-A-Boo." With that, she snapped the book closed, as if to declare her unclear point,

Tikki struggled to figure out what she had missed. Suddenly, it clicked for her. Her eyes widened with fright. "Oh!"

Marinette nodded. "Oh is right."

"You think Hawkmoth is going to read the same book as you and send fairie akumas after you to steal all the children away!" The very thought was frightening, and disturbed Tikki greatly. She wrung her tiny hands in concern just thinking about it. Would this madman's deviousness never stop?

Marinette blinked. "What? No! The bodach is called 'Bug-A-Boo'!"

Tikki paused. "Eh?"

"Bug-A-Boo! The same nickname Cat Noir gave me!"

Suddenly, the situation became less dire, but more dramatic. "Oh," Tikki said, floating down.

Marinette's eyes followed her kwami. "Why does this 'Oh' of yours sound less impressed then the last one?"

"Because...is it really that bad?" Tikki asked, wincing.

"His nickname is from a demonic character!" Marinette shrieked. She collapsed to the floor in a heap, book still somehow in hand.

"I thought it was a boogeyman," Tikki said as she flew down to her Chosen's shoulder.

"Boogeyman is described as a demon who eats children in his lair, page seventy-three," came Marinette's muffled response.

Unsure of what else to do, Tikki pat Marinette's shoulder. "There, there. Don't get to emotional about this, I'm sure he didn't know. It was a cute nickname. Until now," she quickly amended after the look Marinette gave her.

But after several quiet moments, Marinette frowned thoughtfully. "You're right," she said. "No harm was done. If it ever comes up, I will tell him to stop."

Tikki nodded, proud of her Chosen. "Good girl!" she chirped. "Now, get to work on that project!" she encouraged, flying upwards.

Marinette scrambled up with a determined look. "Yes!"

But, after several moments and several cookies, Tikki finally realized that Marinette was typing rather rapidly on her computer. "Did you choose a fairy for your project?" she asked in delight.

"Uh huh," came the swift response.

"Awesome!" Tikki squealed, flying over to see what Marinette was typing. However, the smile vanished from her face when she noticed what subject Marinette had picked.

"You're writing about the bodach?" she asked in surprise.

"Huh?" Marinette asked, blinking. "No! I'm just...curious about this thing. But I am not picking it for my project." She huffed and crossed her arms as if the very idea was absurd. "I want to look into it before I start on the project."

Tikki frowned. "Alright, but you better make it quick. You never know when an akuma will show up and consume much of your time."

Marinette sighed. "Don't remind me," she said. But her eyes were glued to the screen on the bodach.

* * *

"I would say that job went pretty well My Lady," Cat Noir said with a grin as they watched the cured victim reunite with his family. Everything had been restored to order, though there were a few close calls involving Cat Noir's Cataclysm, which left his ring low on power.

Ladybug smiled at her partner. "That it did indeed. I am just surprised it went by rather quickly." Equally as fast, she spun her yo-yo and was ready to take off, though she lingered a bit more with Cat Noir.

He smirked. "Which works out for the both of us as we finally have some 'us' time," he said.

"How about just some 'you' time?" she asked coyly. "Besides, I can't stay long, I have a paper to write for." As reluctant as she was to admit it, Tikki had been right about an akuma taking up most of her time.

To her surprise, Cat Noir sighed in understanding. "As do I," he said forlornly. But he perked up and grabbed her hand, kissing it before she could pull away. "Until next time, Bug-A-Boo."

Ladybug froze, eyes wide as she heard that dreaded nickname. She didn't even think she would hear it, as Cat Noir didn't seem to use it as often. Why would he say it now?! She opened her mouth to reply back, but Cat Noir was already leaping upon rooftops, trying to hide before his ring lost power. With a quick thought, she decided not to let this go unanswered.

"Cat Noir, wait!" she shouted, zooming after him and flying through the air.

He stopped at her calls on the rooftops, his grin growing as he stared up at her. "What? Has My Lady finally chased after me? Dreams do come true!"

"Don't flatter yourself," she huffed as she landed beside him. "Cat Noir, that nickname...about the bug…"

"Bug-A-Boo?" he asked, leaning against a brick wall with ease. "It's kind of cute, wouldn't you say?" He stopped to glance at his ring, which showed that he could transform at any minute. "Um, I would like to stay and _cat_ but I'm running low on juice." He gave her a flirtatious look. "Unless you want to see who I really am behind this mask."

She too, was running low and would transform in mere moments. But she needed to get this sorted out, and ignore the pun for now. "The nickname is from a fairy book and-"

"Oh! Fairies!" he exclaimed with a bright smile. "See? It's perfect for you!" He glanced down at his ring with true concern, stepping back. "Um, I have to go. We can talk about this later!" With that, he spun around and jumped down into an alleyway. A bright green light filled the dim street, and Ladybug cut off her shout with a frustrated growl.

It only got worse from there. After mistakenly finding out about the nickname being related to a fairy, Cat Noir used "Bug-A-Boo" whenever he could. Weeks had passed, and Ladybug never got a chance to pull him aside and demand that he stop. The world seemed ready to taunt her with the nickname, preventing her from clearing everything up.

She was further pushed into action when Alya had wondered one time during a visit about what this 'Bug-A-Boo' meant. It might have been a code between the two heros, the aspiring journalist had mused.

Marinette had been sent into a panic at that moment. There was no way she was letting the press get wind of this and label her with a disgusting creature for the rest of her life.

"You could be labeled with worse," Tikki assured her once to no avail.

"Yeah right," Marinette huffed as she spun in her chair and typed into her computer with a determined frown. After looking into the bodach, Marinette had reluctantly realized that the amount of information she had was more than enough for her to put a paper for school together. The work had been done for her, and her school work had been taken care of for the most part.

But it was time to bag a little kitty with some information and put an end to this otherwise harmless joke.

"Don't you think you are overreacting?" Tikki asked as she watched her Chosen hit the 'print' button before dashing off. The kwami watched with a frown as Marinette waited for the picture to develop.

"Nope," she said firmly, holding the paper up with a grin.

"You might hurt his feelings!" Tikki protested.

"My feelings will be hurt if I am stuck with the name 'Bug-A-Boo' for all eternity! Can you imagine my poor children walking the streets, surrounded by posters of their mother with the name 'Bug-A-Boo'? They will be a laughing stock and then they will need counselling and the stress of not being able to afford all of those therapy sessions would put a strain on my marriage and Adrien will leave me!" With a horrified gasp that turned into a wail, Marinette fell onto her chair, eyes wide with horror as she clutched the picture of the bodech.

Tikki sighed, flying over and gently patting Marinette's hair. "Oh Marinette," Tikki murmured. She hesitated for a moment. "Go easy on him. He didn't know that the lives of your children were at stake."

"I know!" Marinette exclaimed. Looking at the clock and realizing, with a wide smile, that it was time for patrol, she leaped to her feet. "Come on Tikki, time to save the future of my children and my marriage! Spots on!"

* * *

Cat Noir leaned up against a chimney, arms folded as he waited for his partner. His mouth twitched into a fond smile as he thought of her, eagerly awaiting to spend some more time with Ladybug. He even came up with a few good pickup lines. He knew they would not have the desired effect on her, but she did not outright tell him to stop his playful puns and flirting. If anything, she would tease him back.

"Cat Noir!"she shouted suddenly as she landed not too far away from him, her red suit easy to spot, no pun intended. Oh! He should use that one.

He turned to regard her with a smile, though he took in her determined and deliberate steps as she marched towards him. Her shoulders were set and there was a firm frown etched in her face. She was undoubtedly upset about something.

Not how he would have thought their patrol would have started off.

"Bug-A-" he started, only to be cut off when a hideous picture of a cross between Gollum and an old man was thrust in his face.

He blinked as he tried to make sense of why she was showing him this. "Um, wha-?"

"Bug-A-Boo is the name of hideous boogeyman creature called the bodach that takes naughty children up the chimney to their dooms," she said in a rush. She let out a breath, shoulders slumping with relief. "There! I said it!"

He blinked once more as he stared at the picture before looking back at her with wide eyes. "So...he's like a skinny Santa Claus with issues?"

Ladybug stared at him before a small smile broke across her face. "Just thought I would let you know," she said.

He could only stare, the sudden realization of what he had done and continued to call her flooding him with a rush of feelings. Mortification and horror consumed him and his face twisted in disgust as he glanced once more at the picture. "Bug-I mean...Ladybug, I had no idea!" He stared at her. "I would never think you to be compared to something like this!"

To his surprise and utter delight, she giggled. "Well, I would hope it wasn't intentional," she said.

"Never! You are far more lovely than this pimpled imp!" he said. He wilted, folding his arms. "Shame, I thought it was a cute nickname."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever gave you such an idea?"

"You love the nicknames!" he exclaimed with a teasing grin. "It's what cements our relationship! It's how I express my love and devotion to the woman I love!"

"Well, next time, look into the nickname you are calling your love when you find her," she said with a smirk. "Research just might save you from a lonely life."

"Research is dangerous," he huffed, folding his arms. "You find something good until you do a little digging and find all the dirt."

"That's what happens when you dig," she said with a smile. She chuckled, flicking his bell. "Come on kitty, let's finish patrol."

* * *

"I can't believe I compared her to that creature!" Adrien exclaimed, staring at his tablet in disgust as he arose from his chair. His food nearly forgotten, he had spent much of breakfast looking into the bodach creature, and his embarrassment only continued to grow.

Plagg shrugged as he gulped down his cheese. "Love makes you stupid. That's why I stick with cheese. It doesn't care what I call it!"

"Yeah, but girls don't stink of cheese," Adrien grumbled as he frantically grabbed his backpack for school.

"They do when they come back from the gym," Plagg commented as he flew into Adrien's pocket, his belly full with his cheese for the hour.

"Since when were you sniffing sweaty girls?" Adrien demanded as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"First off, don't ever tell a girl she is sweating; they glisten. Second, I thought their stinky feet was camembert."

Adrien gagged at the very disgusting thought. "Gross."

"Adrien," a sudden voice said, filling the dining room. "Who are you talking to?"

Adrien froze, and he felt Plagg go still at the sound of his father's voice. Plastering a false smile on his face, Adrien turned to address his father who was standing at the entrance of the dining room, his very presence imposing. "Um, I was practicing my Chinese!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together innocently.

His father raised an eyebrow as he approached the table, notepad in hand. "I see," he said, though he did not seem convinced. Luckily, he did not seem to care either. "Need I remind you that you are not to be late for class?" he asked.

Eager to be out of there and avoid any further questions, Adrien nodded quickly and dashed outside. "Thanks for the reminder father, bye!"

Gabriel watched his son go with a small frown on his face. He could hear the doors shut behind the boy as Adrien left, and he was finally alone with the still silence of a large, empty house.

His wandering eye caught sight of something of interest. His frown deepening, he approached the tablet that his son hd left out. Forgetting momentarily about invading his son's privacy, Gabriel looked at the hideous image of a creature staring up at him.

He blinked. Was this a project Adrien was working on? Or a new hobby of his? Gabriel hoped that it was just a school project, and not something Adrien had taken a sudden interest in. If so, he would have to talk to Natalie about filling in his schedule once more. Gabriel stared at the name of the creature that was in bold letters on the tablet, an idea forming in his mind. As all artists and creators, he filed away his inspirational idea for later.

* * *

Ladybug landed on the roof before breaking out into a run, not breaking a stride. The terrified screams of the civilians filled her ears as she rushed towards the roar of the akuma. Gritting her teeth, her blue eye snarrow,d she launched upward before landing once more where she could have a clear view of the akuma.

Her eyes widened as she took in the hunched form of Hawkmoth's latest victim. Hunched over with long arms and scraggly hair, it chased after terrified, screaming children.

"All naughty children shall be punished!" the akuma screamed.

Ladybug barely noticed Cat Noir landing beside her. "What the…?" he trailed off as he stared at the creature below them, who was now standing upright.

"Bug-A-Boo will punish you all!" it screamed. Cat Noir's eyes widened at the name, a pit of dread building up in his stomach.

"CAT!" came the infuriated shout from Ladybug.

"It wasn't my fault! I swear!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: The** **bodach is an actual mythical creature that is indeed sometimes called 'Bug-A-Boo.' No bodach's were harmed in the making of this story.**


End file.
